Does anybody own/use a wireless rain gauge?

I own one, but I can't say I use it because the @#$% thing is out of commission 1/2 the time. Mine was mfg by LaCrosse Technology and looks very much like this one. While it works, it is absolutely marvelous. The water cup is outside, and you set the digital gauge anywhere indoors and watch the stats w/o getting wet. AGAIN, that's when the dang thing works.

If you have one of these I would appreciate your comments and possible tips on how to make it work better. Mfr has replaced once, but it peters out after 6 mo. It is battery operated.

http://www.weathershack.com/wireless-rain-gauges.html


PS: It's funny that my little plastic rain gauge from WM continues to be more reliable than this gizmo, sigh.

This message was edited Jul 12, 2007 10:28 AM

I don't have that exact gauge but it is a piece of junk. I bought one of the oversize humongeous plastic gauges where a red disk floats to show water mark, best one i've found.
even the local radio station used to report what the digital rain gauge reads and it was way off the mark.

Vossner ~ I am going to resist one of those buddies. A friend gave me a wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer for work. Thought it was so cool I bought a second one for the house. They EAT batteries. No more!

I've had one of those Len123. Over the years the disc has faded and is difficult to read. Took it out, cleaned the inside and painted the disc flame orange ~ now it doesn't float as well. Time for a new one... Rained all night ~ going to check it.

pod, we kept thinking it was an internal problem. surely they couldn't be eating that many batteries. Hearing you say this, I guess I have to conclude they do eat batteries. We've changed them sooo many times. And it works great again, until we have to replace the batteries.

oh crud, i guess i should have bought several. lol

I wish that this thread had been posted the day BEFORE I bought my wireless rain gauge instead of 2 days after. What a piece of junk! I've even POURED water into it, heard it's little mechanism going, even placed the receiver closer and closer to it......and it still doesn't work. Four hours later it said 45". I'm returning it.

45"! You'll have to go by boat to return it... lol

Had lots of problems with mine as well - Oregon Scientific. And I was considering buying one of those complete weather stations by LaCrosse!

We've had ours for a few months. Haven't replaced the battery yet. It seems to work. A couple of times it registered an amount that was off-the-wall. I figured the cat may probably hit the wrong button and switched it to mm. instead of inches. I bought it at Tractor Supply and paid a lot less than this ad:
http://www.weatherconnect.com/product.asp?itmky=821513

linda, what a deal. We always think TSC is terribly overpriced. I'll go ck it out. Your kitty messing w/ it sounds plausible, those rain cups are very sensitive. Important to place the cup in a clear area. Mine was in a clear area, however, in autumn, the falling leaves from nearby trees always "messed up" the readings. We have to constantly ck for cup debris.

I received one for Fathers Day and so far it's working pretty good. Knocking on wood though after reading this thread. I like reading the temp.(outdoors) from our kitchen window but sounds like I can expect it to go wacky one of these days.

Cuckoo

Oh, actually it was the indoor unit that I thought the cats messed with. It has a button to change between inches and millimeters. I'm not sure the outdoor unit has a cup. The water goes into it (somehow it measures it) then the water comes right out the bottom, so it never needs emptying. It's kind of neat, the way it works.

That sounds like the type I bought.....which DOES NOT WORK ! I should call the company. They are actually in Lake Geneva, WI. I liked the idea of buying from an in state company. Most things seem to be made overseas.

Hmmm. Well, my indoor Acu-Rite unit says it's made in the country that exports poisons to kill our pets, not to mention the toxic fish it exports and the toxic toothpaste. That wasn't one of its best selling points for me...I buy things made in this country if they're available. But it IS put out by a U.S. company, at least...and it works...as far as I can tell.